- September 05, 2023
She was born in 1999 in the Novara countryside. At the end of her high school art course, in 2018 she enrolled in the Industrial Product Design course at the School of Design at the Politecnico di Milano. After obtaining her Bachelor’s degree, she decided to continue at the same university with the Master’s degree course in Integrated Product Design. During her studies, she learned how the designer’s role is fundamental in understanding users’ needs in order to set new design goals. Furthermore, during the last academic year, she dedicated herself to projects focused on sustainability and circularity of the product-service system. For this reason, she developed a strong interest in biomaterials and the opportunities they can provide, both on a technical and sensory level, for the design of innovative products.
ABSTRACT
The climate crisis and growing environmental issues demand a radical shift in industrial practices, steering them toward more sustainable solutions. Biomaterials, due to their biodegradability and renewability, represent a promising alternative to conventional materials. Designers are thus called to explore new solutions to contribute to a more responsible economy, aiming for regenerative development.
This thesis investigates the possibility of combining the growth of mycelium with bacterial cellulose (BC), a biomaterial already widely used in experimentation but with limitations related to its instability over time and its tendency to absorb moisture. In contrast, mycelium, the vegetative part of fungi, is a naturally water-resistant biomaterial that can improve the critical properties of BC. The experimentation was conducted following the Material Driven Design (MDD) method and a DIY approach, exploring different techniques for growing the multi-organism composite material.
The experimentation involved using BC obtained from the fermentation of Kombucha tea, both in sheet form and reduced to a ‘tartar’ state, to combine it with mycelium. The most promising samples were prepared using pre-inoculated substrate with fungal spores and BC sheets. The BC layer is fully covered with pure mycelium, resulting in a flexible and durable material. Growth protocols were further tested and optimized for quantity and ingredients. A crucial phase of the experimentation focused on refining techniques for treating the pre- and postgrowth samples, creating surface textures, and adapting growth to larger sample sizes.
The resulting composite material, UN_SKIN, showed improved Water Contact Angle (WCA) values, maintaining a more stable color over time. With a consistency similar to leather, both in its one-sided usage and its texture, an application opportunity emerged in the upholstered furniture sector. To highlight the final characteristics, the thesis concluded with the design and prototyping of a bench intended for fashion stores. The object, made of iron, combines the material and sensory contrast of metal sheet with the irregular and unique aesthetic of the biomaterial, which emerges from small modular padded areas.
Experimenting with this material paves the way for new design opportunities, both in terms of self-production and, as in the case of the final prototype, in related sectors such as fashion, which require effective and urgent changes.